Venetian blind



Dec. 14, 1954 B. WALKER 2,696,879

VENETIAN BLIND Filed June 17, 1950 a T e .1-

: INVEWM United States Patentfi VENETIANBLIND R Brooks WalkeryPiedmont, Calif.

Application June-17,1950, SeriaLNo. 168,715

7 Claims. (Cl. 160-168) This invention pertains to a Venetian blind head rail, and particularly to a simplified form of head rail, in WlllChffi u-shaped'channelzis used as the head rail with the open side of the-channel facing towards theslats. The tilt-rodsupporting and tape and cord guiding brackets are placed in position-by snapping them into the lower curled: edgeof the head rail or sliding: them into place with spacers between the component parts, and the end brackets'are held in place. by end caps or other suitable attachments to the-head rail main piece.

Another advantage of this constructionds the use of similar brackets for the. end supports of the :tilt rail where one -controls or supports the tilting mechanism. and the other supports the cord lock position, the bracketsatboth endsvbeing substantially the same but with one having the cord lock inserted .and the other having. the'tilt mechanism assembled in it.

Other advantages of the construction are the simplicity: in manufacturing, as the Venetian blind plant only requires a simple cutoff tool for the head railmaterial which it buys in stock lengths. The blind can be very readily assembled on the simplified tilt rod, the tapes can bestapled, sewed or welded together to form a loop at the upper ends and assembled over the tilt rod, and the cords can be easily assembled prior to mounting of the component parts in the head. rail. After assembly of all of the parts with ample space to work, the entire assembly can either be'slid in from the endof the head rail or snapped into their respective places. The tapes are-accurately positioned so that the slats will always fall in the same relative position with respect to the location of the head rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide very simplified :inserts forturning the lift cord from the vertical to: the horizontal position inside the head rail, formed of either=a simple stamping which may be snapped into position or a simple bracket of bent wire which may be snapped into position. In case there is any'objection to -snapping the brackets into position, a very simple bracket which acts as a center support for the tilt rod and a support for the cord turning device may be used which is held in position by spacers between the end bracketsrandrthecenter support tape guides. This construction allows allaofthemechanism. to..be assembled outside of the head railpand thensnapped into place in then-head rail or slid in from the end of the head rail, ;with spacers over the tilt rod or upsets on the tilt rod to provide the necessary spacing adjustment of the variousparts and to take care of the end thrust of the cord tilts.

Awfurther. advantage of this construction is that complicated stamping equipment for punching intricate holes for-the passage of the tapes, the mounting of the lift cord pulleys, the passage of the tilt-mechanism, and th'ezpassage and mounting of the cord lock are all eliminated in this construction, as the head rail can be cut to length, the component parts kept in stock and assembled without the necessity of measuring and punching the head rail which is common with many U-shaped head rails now used by the Venetian blind industry where the top or open side of the U is usually upward and a series of holes must be provided in the bottom of the U-channel.

Other features of the invention will be pointed out in the accompanying specifications and claims.

I have illustrated my invention-by way of example in the following views, in which:

Figure -1 is a side; elevation ofna Venetianblind partly cut away and showing one form of theinventiont;

Figure-2 is .an end. elevationof the construction shown in Figure 1 takenv at sectionc2.2...

Figure 3 is a section of the head rail, shown in.-Figure 1, taken .at the point. of a lift-cord support which may be-used midway between the ladder tapes:

Figure 4 is a perspective view of thehead rail shown in Figures 1 and-2 viewed inenlargedscale;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the end bracket which carries the tilting tmechanismuthat; mayv beinserted in the head rail.

Figure 6 is a perspective'view'of aninsert madenof wire whichmay be=used at. the location of the ladder tapes for locating the ladder .tapesrand for acting as-a cord turning device.

Figure 7 is a perspective viewof ,an-insert which may be used to support the lift cord between: theladder :tapes as is ,shownin: Figure 3.

Figure 8 is aperspective view of another form of in? sert which may be used to guide the ladder tapes and to act as a cord turning device to change thelift-cord from a vertical motion to a horizontal motion withinthe head rail 10.

Figure 9 is .a perspective view of another: type ofin sert which may be held on the tilt rod in-its appro. priate position by spacers on the tilt rod, locates the ladger' tapes, and provides aturning guide for. the lift. cor

Figure .10 is .a .bottomview of a portion ofthe head member. with some :of the -inserts-in place.

Figure. 11 is a perspective .view of the same type of: end: bracket as shown in Figure 5 which may be used in the other end of. the head rail, andzshowing the ClltOlltnfOl' the mounting of the cord lock.

In all-figures,-like numerals of reference refer to the corresponding parts in the various views. t

Referring to Figures l, 2,3, 4, and 10, I have-shown a head member-10 which is of a rectangular U-shaped channel with curled lower edges 10awhich are laterally spaced apart a distance. less thanthe width of the. slats .5, as shown in Fig. 2. This head member is preferably unpunched for the location of the ladder tapes. 20, and-.21 which support slats 5 on .conventional laddertapevcross rungs 9. The bottom of :theladdertapes are secured to.. gether by bottom weights 6, which. preferably have tape caps. 6a, which are more particularly described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 124,075, now UPS. Patent 2,652,112.' A simplified tilting mechanismds provided in small diameter rod 8,-.on whichvis mounted a sleeve 8a, around which are at least three turns ofthe tilt control cords .15.and. 16-which are preferably anchored at one point to the slat tilt control rod-.8, as by a cotter-pinrunning'through. the rod in. a manner such as is illustrated in my co-pending application, .Serial No.. 122,638.

Interchangeable end brackets are. shown in-Figureso5 and 11, as well as in Figures 1 and '2. ..These.end:brack ets support the'slat-tilt. controlrod 8 iH'Cl'ld bearings so that the tilt rod 8 is disposed substantially abovehthe center and near the top'of the inverted U-s'haped head member 10, as shown in Figs. 14, and one of. such' brackets suitably houses the tilting control wraps of tilt cords 15 and 16. It also provides a passage forthe tilt cords 15 and 16 by cutout llg which provides a space where the tilt cords tcanapas's through the end bracket 11 and down outside of the edge of the slats S. The cars 11a and 11b. act as guides for the tilt control-cords andkeepthfil'l'liflfil'l'l pilingon top of each other, and also keep them within the desired limits of travel on rod 8 where it has the enlarged sleeve 8a. Curled ears He and 111 are so formed as to nest in the lower curled edges 10a of the head member, and they can be slid in endwise in the head member 10 until car 11 abuts against one end of one side wall of head member 10 to prevent the end bracket 11 from going farther in than is desired. When the end bracket 11 is reversed and is inserted in the other end of the head rail 10, it acts as a support for the slat tilt control rod 8, if necessary, and also acts as a mounting for the cord lock 12 which is snapped into rectangular hole 11c in a manner common to use in the industry, particularly in head rails made by the Hunter Douglas Company at present.

The ladder tapes are of cloth, plastic, or other suitable material, and have their side members secured together by stapling, welding, or such other manner as may give the best performance, and this looped end is passed up through the slat in the head rail and looped over tilt control rod 8 providing a friction drive between the slat tilting rod 8 and the looped end of the ladder tapes providing a more positive tilt control as disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 151,231, filed March 22, 1950, now PatentNumber 2,663,368, prior to assembling the component parts in the head rail. Guide means for the ladder tapes at the appropriate spacing is' provided by a bracket, such as is shown in Figure 6, which may be formed of wire, and allows the looped ladder tape to be inserted through the opening 272, if necessary, in case the ladder tape is assembled or disassembled by removing rod 8 and leaving bracket 27 snapped in place with portions 270 and 27d snapped into the curled lower edge 10a of the head member. The U-shaped portion in 27a may form the guide for turning the lift cord 31a, and hump 27b may also guide the lift cord 31 and prevent it from going upward and getting caught in the space between the tilt rod 8 and the under side of the ladder tapes 20 and 21.

Another type of bracket, as shown in Figure 8, is formed of a stamping with curled edges 2812 which may be snapped into the curled edges 10a of the head member and secured into position against lateral displacement by a slight crimping of the curled edge 10a, if necessary. A round, smooth guide, such as 28a, may be provided for turning the lift cord 31, and an additional guide hole 28c may be provided in turned up lip 28c to prevent the tilt when slack from getting caught between this1 looped, upper edge of the ladder tape and the tilt r Another form of ladder tape spacing and cord turn 29 may be formed as shown in Figure 9, where the upper ends 29a and 2% are provided with a suitable hole or bearing through which rod 8 passes for intermediate support when the lower corners of the insert 29 are resting on the curled edges of the head rail 10. The center portion of insert 29 is preferably turned upwards, with a half round wooden insert 32 secured in place for acting as' a cord turn guide for lift cord 31. The half round hardwood insert may have a groove for guiding the lift cord 31, which also has the advantage of not marking it, this being one of the usual difficulties when the lift cord is turned in sliding engagement over a metal guide. Insert 29 is spaced in the head rail by sleeves 8c and 8d, or other suitable means.

The bracket 22 shown in Fig. 7 is positionable between adjacent ladder tapes' and functions to support the lift cord at points intermediate adjacent ladder tapes.

I do not wish in any way to limit myself to the exact details or mode of operation set forth in the specifications and drawings, for it will be obvious that departure may be made in the way of details without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention which is set forth in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A Venetian blind comprising a head rail of inverted U-shaped channel form throughout the length thereof, said rail including opposed generally parallel side walls having inwardly turned laterally spaced flanges adjacent the lower edges thereof and providing a slot which is coextensive with said rail, a supporting bracket mounted in said head rail on said inwardly turned flanges adjacent the ends thereof, a rotatable slat tilting rod journaled at its ends in said brackets and extending longitudinally through said head rail above said slot, slats carried by a pair of ladder tapes, said tapes each having continuous upper end portions extending through said slot and looped over and directly supported upon said rotatable slat tilting rod for driving engagement therewith, tape guiding means also mounted in said rail on the inwardly turned flanges thereof and within the loops of said ladder tapes retaining said ladder tapes in a desired position, said guide means having a height adjusting means opening therein registering with said slot, means connected to said slat tilting rod to rotate same in its journals through more than 360 in one direction to control the tilt of said slats, and a second means adjusting the height of said slats.

2. The Venetian blind defined in claim 1, wherein the supporting brackets are interchangeable and each thereof comprises an upwardly opening bearing for one end of the rotatable slat tilting rod, a passage for said rod rotating means, and an abutment ear engageable with a respective end of one of the side walls of said head rail to retain the bracket in a desired position in the flanges thereof.

3. The Venetian blind defined in claim 2, wherein said supporting brackets each comprise a member having two horizontally disposed levels connected together by a vertical portion at the outer end thereof, said vertical portion having said upwardly opening bearing for rotatably supporting said slat tilting rod, a central cut-out in the upper said horizontal level adjacent said bearing providing clearance for said rod rotating means, an aperture through one side of said lower horizontal level permitting passage of said rod rotating means, said aperture having at one side a rounded guide and a second aperture portion on said lower level on the side opposite said first aperture permitting insertion of said height adjusting means and a braking means therefor.

4. The Venetian blind according to claim 3, wherein said rod rotating means comprises cords wound more than twice around said slat tilting rod having the ends thereof hanging down through said first aperture of one of said brackets against said rounded guide, said height adjusting means comprising cords passing down through the slats and secured below the bottom slat and said height adjusting cords having a loop extending down through the second aperture of the other said bracket.

5. The Venetian blind defined in claim 1 wherein the tape guiding means comprises a member having transverse restraining portions for holding said ladder tapes in alignment, a horizontal aligning means and a vertical aligning means for said height adjusting means in general horizontal alignment with each other but with the vertical aligning means lower than the said horizontal alignment.

6. The Venetian blind defined in claim 1, wherein said rotatable slat tilting rod is journaled in said brackets so that said rod is disposed substantially above the center and near the top of the inverted U-shaped channel.

7. The Venetian blind defined in claim 1, wherein the flanges of the side walls of said rail are laterally spaced a distance less than the width of the slats carried by said tapes.

References tCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,165,292 Morse et al. July 11, 1939 2,200,143 Wolfe May 7, 1940 2,409,82l Albrecht Oct. 22, 1946 2,410,5 9 Olsen Nov. 5, 1946 2,503,876 Krauss Apr. 11, 1950 2,505,943 Charbonneau May 2, 1950 2,534,080 Stuber et al. Dec. 12, 1950 2,618,329 Nelson Nov. 18, 1952 2,652,113 Schaefer Sept. 15, 1953 

